Limit "Default Beep" Error Sound when using Windows Explorer

Question

I have two different Windows 7 machines, home and work, and have noticed an annoying discrepancy between the two of them.

On my work machine  if I'm in a Windows Explorer window and type a key to jump to a subfolder but there is no folder starting with that letter it will make an error noise, the one assigned to "Default Beep". However if I keep typing it doesn't make any more noise even though it's still not finding something to jump to. The noise won't play again unless I wait a second or so without typing, or go to some other window and come back. As long as I keep typing on the keyboard in the same Windows Explorer window and each keypress is within that ~1 second timeframe from the previous keypress it will keep on not making any noise.

On the home machine however in the same situation it makes another beep for every key I press. If I keep pressing keys it keeps making noise, the faster I press the faster the noises happen, up until the point where the beeps starting overwriting each other. This is very annoying. One beep lets me know I've made a mistake, I don't need to be assaulted by multiple beeps before my fingers catch up to my brain and stop typing.

I know how to change the Default Beep sound and I know I could turn it off entirely if I wanted, but _one_ beep as a warning is useful. There must be some configuration option that got changed on my work machine, whether by me or the IT department I have no idea at this point.

So how do I limit the error noise so that it will beep once and then not again until a sufficient time has passed since the last error?

(And trying to search the internet for solutions using things like "Windows error beeps" results in questions from a lot of people who either don't know how to change or disable the sound, or people who are getting error beeps and can't figure out why, neither of which is my situation.)

Thanks!

Answer 1

You do not understand because you apparently did not read the description.

"I know how to change the Default Beep sound and I know I could turn it off entirely if I wanted"

You have provided instructions on how I can turn the Default Beep off entirely, which I already know how to do and do not want. I want to limit it to one error sound per limited time frame. The article you link to describes how to change the sound produced or turn it off completely, not how to limit the number of times the sound plays in a row.

Since I did in fact read your response I shall provide the information you asked for.

My Home machine is from a company called "PCs For Everyone", and was constructed to order, so there is no

Here are the details from the invoice:

1 x Intel 3000 Series ( My System September 22, 2010, 2:25 am ) ( $1,465.00 )

Quad-Core Intel® Core? i5-760 2.80GHz 8MB Smart Cache (VT)

Intel® DH55HC - ATX - Intel® H55 Chipset

2 x Crucial 4GB PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3

Antec Sonata III 500 - ATX Mid Tower - 500 Watt Power Supply - Black - Silent Design

Included Power Supply (Chassis must include power to select this option)

3 x 1TB SATA 7200RPM - 3.5" - Seagate Barracuda® 7200.12

Samsung 22x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer LightScribe (SATA)

Lite-On 4x Blu-Ray Disc Reader (SATA)

19-in-1 3.5" Card Reader (Black)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB GDDR3 (1xDVI, 1xHDMI, 1xVGA)

Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Keyboard and Mouse (USB)

APC Essential SurgeArrest, 6 outlet

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

However I'm not sure how that information will be of help to you, since there are many PCs that repeat the sound when you press the key repeatedly, so it seems unlikely it is something particular to the hardware in this particular example.

Answer 2

Hi,

With the description, I understand that you want to change the error beep settings on your Windows 7 home machine. I will certainly help you with the query.

I would appreciate if you could help me with more information:

What is the make and model number of your Home computer?

I would suggest you to follow the steps below to disable the click sound:

1. Click on the Start button on the Windows 7 menu bar. 

2. From the Start menu, click on Control Panel.

3. On the Control Panel dialog, click on Hardware and Sound. 

4. On the Hardware and Sound dialog, click on Change system sounds.

5. From the Sounds dropdown select No Sound 

6. Click OK

For more information on this, you may refer to the below mentioned Microsoft article and check if that helps:

Change computer sounds

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/change-sounds#1TC=windows-7

Hope this information is helpful. Please write back to us if you need any further assistance, we'll be glad to assist you.